Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns a method for the multisensory representation of an object, and a representation system suitable for this purpose.
Description of the Prior Art
The representation and simultaneous perception of reality and its physical properties in an interactive, completely or partially virtual environment, which is computer-generated in real time, is described as virtual reality (VR) or augmented reality (AR). Usually, it is primarily the visual component of reality that is replaced. In the case of augmented reality, for example, virtual objects or additional virtual information are superimposed on the actual environment. A user can interact with the represented virtual elements, for example, rotating them or zooming in on them or zooming out from them. For this purpose, the user usually wears a pair of AR glasses as described, for example, in US 2013/0162673. The virtual objects represented therefore may have a level of detail and information exceeding reality, but are inherently intangible.
Moreover, 3D printers are known. Objects with almost any structure can be produced with these printers. In principle, a multiplicity of materials can be used for this purpose. However, the number of materials actually used to produce an object is restricted to a few, due to the nature of the 3D printer or for financial reasons. At present, it is therefore difficult, or at least uneconomic, to produce a model of an actual object with the use of a 3D printer, such as with natural coloring. Feasible models are, by their nature, static and usually opaque. Dynamic, variable coloring and a visible representation of integrated details are therefore difficult or currently impossible with the resources of an individually producible actual model.